Steering wheel



c. A. DONALDSON June 19, 1923.

STEERING WHEEL Filed April 18, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 119%, 1923.

1 C. A. DONALDSON STEERING WHEEL Filed April 18, 1922 m W 3 14 w k:

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Patent time ie, ieea I CHARLES THUR DOHAIIDSON, OF SAN ANTONIO, TES.

srnnanio w Application filed April 18, 1922. Serial Ho. %,998.

To all wlwm it my concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES ARTHUR DONALDSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Antonio,'in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steerin Wheels, of which the following is a speci cation.

This invention relates to an improved steering wheel for motor vehicles and seeks,

as one of its principal objects, to provide a wheel which ma be freed from the steering post to turn in ependently'thereof to thereby prevent steering of the vehicle.

The invention has as a further object to provide a steering wheel which, when freed from the steering post, may be tilted so as to provide additional room or clearance at the rear of the wheel.

And a still further object of the invention is to provide a wheel which. may be readily employed in connection with conventional steering posts.

Other and lncidental objects will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings: v Figure 1 is a sectional vlew through my improved steering wheel on the l ne 1--1 of Figure 2, -looking in the direction of the arrows, v

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan new of the wheel,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation, Figure 4 is a detail sectional view through the lock of the wheel,

Figure 5 is a fragmenta ing the manner in which t elevation showe wheel may be Figure 6.is"a plan view of the bottom sec showing a modification of the invention, and.

1 Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showlng a; still further modification.

Referrin now more particularly to the drawings, employ a sp rical head or ball 10 having a recess 11 thewin from which,

V extends a squared opening 12 adapted to' accommodate the squared upper terminal of a steering post, as conventlonally illus-- trated at 13, and threaded upon the usual stud at the u perendof said post is a nut 13 securing t e head upon the steering post, said .nut being accommodated in the recess 11. Snugly fitting the head is a socket comprising a hemispherical section 14 and a mating hemispherical section 15 and integrally formed on the section 14 are spokes 16 which is secured a. rim 17. As-shown n F1gure2, the spokes are preferably four in number and formed beneath the inner ends of three of the spokes are bosses 18 while beneath the inner end of the fourth spoke is formed an elongated boss 19. The section-15 of the socket is, as shown in detail in Figure 6, provided with ears '20 which seat flat against said hoses and extendlng throughthe ears are screws or other suitable fastening devices 21 threaded into the bosses for connecting-the sections of the socket. Formed on the head 10 at its lower side is a cylindrical neck or flange 22 surroundin the opening 12 in said head and formed'm the socket section 15 is a slot 23' freely accommodating said neck. Thus the socket may freely turn upon the head. Slidably mounted in the boss 19'is a radially disposed bolt 24 behind whichis 1.; ii a spring 25 pressing the bolt radially inward to normally engage in an opening 26 in the head and mounted upon the adjacent spoke of the wheel is a lock 27 exposed 'at the upper side of said spoke. This lock may be of any appropriate design but is preferably provided with a spindle 28 and mounted upon said spindle is, as shown in detail in Figure 4, an arm 29 formed at its free end with a notch 30. Upstanding from the bolt is a pin 31 accommodated in said notch. Thus, as will be seen, the lock may be operated for retracting the bolt against the tension of the s ri 25 and securing the bolt retracted, t ere y leaving the wheel freeto turn on the steering post. Under such condition, the vehicle cannot of course, be guided'so that possibility of theft of the vehicle will be minimized. Furthermore,

may, when the bolt is thus retracted, be tilted upwardly at its rear side, as shown in dotted lines in' Figure 5, to provide additional clearance between the wheel and the drivers seat. Upon release of the bolt, said bolt will pressagainst the head 10 so that the wheel may then be rotated until the bolt drops into the opening 26 of the head, when the Wheel may be operated for turning the steering post in the usual manner. 7

In Figure f the drawings, I have illustrated aslight modification of the invention too its

wherein a spherical head or ball 32 is employed. This head is adapted to be mounted upon a steering post in a manner similar duo the head 10v and is provided at one side thereof with an opening 33. Fitting the head isa socket comprising mating sections 34 and 35 which, instead of being secured together by screws, as in the preferred construction, are threaded into engagement with each other, the section 35 being provided with a slot 36 accommodatin a neck or flange 37 at the lower side of t e head. Projecting from the socket section 34; is a plurality of spokes 38, one of which "is formed at its inner end with a boss 39 lying at the upper side of the spoke while at the lower side of said spoke is a boss 40. The boss 39 is provided with an opening therein which extends through the section 34 and slidable in said opening is a bolt d1 reduced near its outer .end to define a slot 42. Closing the outer end of the opening through the boss is a plug d3 secured by a tapered pin 44 and bearing between said plug and the outer terminal of the bolt-is a spring 45; normally projecting the bolt to engage in the opening 33 of the head locking the wheel upon the head. Mounted in the boss is an appropriate lock 46 to the cylinder of being shown.

which is secured an e rned?' engagin in the slot 42 of the bolt. Accordingly, t e lock may, as will be a preeiated, be operated for retracting the be t and securing the bolt retracted when the wheel will then be free to turn upon the head while, due to the presence of the slot 36 in the socket section 35,

the wheel may also be tilted as in the preferred construction.

In Figure 8 of the drawings, I have shown a still further modification of the invention ada ted for use in any instance where a uadrant is mounted at the upper end of t e steering post. A spherical head or ball 48 is employed, as in the preferred construction, and is secured upon the steeringpost in a similar manner, the steering ost being conventionally illustrated at 4:9. xtendin through the steering {post are the usua spark and throttle rods 50 which project through the head. At their upper ends, theserods carry the customary control levers which are arranged to cooperate with the quadrant, the levers and the uadrant not Fitting the hea is a socket comprising an upper ring-or section 51 and a mating lower ring or section 52 threaded upon the. formerring. Extending from the ring 51 are spokes 53 and formed in said ring at its upper edge is a slot 54: to accomintense modate the rods 50. I Formed in the ring 52 is a slot 55 to accommodate the neck or flange 56 at the lower side of the head so that, as will be seen, the socket may, when released from the head, he rocked thereon permit tilting of the steering wheel. Locking mechanism similar to that shown in connection with the prior modification is employed in conjunction with one of the spokes for normallly securing the socket stationary but it has been deemed unnecessary to repeat the showing of such mecha- IllSHl;

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a steering wheel, the combination of a spherically shaped head adapted to be secured upon a steering post, a socket retatably fitting the head and formed of an upper section and a mating lower hemispherical section slotteol to accommodate the steering post whereby the socket may be rocked upon the head, spokes radiating from 2. The combination with'a steering post provided at its upper end with a. reduced squared portion defining an annular shoulder at the base thereof, of a spherically shaped head apertured to lit the squared pertion of the post and provided witha radial neck abutting said shoulder, means detachably securing the head upon the squared portion of the post, a socket rotatably fit ting the head and formed of an upper section and a lower hemi-spherieal section slot.- ted to accommodate said neck whereby the socket may be rocked upon the head, the

socket normally covering the entire spherical surface of the head except" at said slot, spokes radiatin from the socket, a rim can ried by the spokes, one of said spokes being formed at its inner end with a depending boss, and lockin mechanism mounted in said boss and inc uding a bolt for connecting the socket and head to turn in unison,

said mechanism being operable for positively holding the bolt retracted rendering the wheel inactive.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHARLES ARTHUR DONALIDSQE. 

